Adele hints at Wembley gig that she may never tour again
LONDON: Singer Adele said during a concert at Wembley Stadium that she may never tour again.
During the concert on Wednesday evening, she began with the profanity-laced comment: “F— me. I have never been so f—ing scared in all of my f—ing life.” In a handwritten note reproduced for the tour programme, Adele also mused on whether or not she’ll tour again
Her anxiety as she began the fi rst of four shows at the London venue, dubbed “The Finale” because they end her 18-month tour run on “25,” was understandable.
The opening show broke attendance records for Wembley, drawing nearly 98,000 fans to the in-the-round setting — breaking the venue record set by U2 in 2009. The singer, who joked that she would considered cancelling the concert the night before, was quick to note, however, “Once I settle into me nerves, I’ll be fi ne.”
As the 18- song set unfolded, frequently interrupted by the singer’s rambling, hilarious chatter, Adele seemed more and more at ease in the massive arena. From her opening number of “Hello,” she grew increasingly more comfortable with the space — and with the fact that the fans circled the stage, which was set aloft in the middle of the field. By her fi fth number, a lively rendition of “Rumour Has It,” Adele had found her groove.
She rolled through a selection of both hits and deeper album cuts and scattered her setlist choices across all three of her albums rather than emphasising “25.”
Video screens encircled the stage, playing clips previously used in this touring cycle, although the shots of London during “Hometown Glory” were edited to include shots of a burned Grenfell Tower — the singer made an impassioned plea for audience members to donate five pounds (about RM28) each to the relief fund for victims of the fi re earlier this month, in which an estimated 80 people died.
In a lighter moment, the singer brought out a men’s choir for her rendition of “Skyfall,” joking that they’d ignored her request to perform shirtless; a fi reworks display illuminated “Set Fire to the Rain,” the song that concluded the main set.
She repeatedly told the crowd that she’d forgotten the words to the next song, asking for help with each lyric. Whether she actually needed the help was a moot point; the assertion gave the audience an even bigger motivation to sing louder and more forcefully.
Before the last track, Adele choked up, telling the crowd how blown she was by the experience.
“For someone who was terrible at touring, who was unreliable at touring — I couldn’t even get insurance when I wanted to do this tour,” she said. “It wasn’t until I did the UK and Europe shows that I fi nally got insured. I only missed one show. And, I swear to God, I actually had the flu.”